The world’s shame in Syrian conflict

There is no limit to the cruelty Bashar al-Assad is willing to inflict on Syria. The death toll from his 18-month war has topped 30,000. The trail of death and destruction has displaced more than 1.5m people within Syria and flooded neighbouring countries with 300,000 refugees, a number the UN says could double by the end of the year. Not only is there no end in sight to Syria’s conflict – worse may yet be to come.

For all the words of outrage expressed by world leaders at the UN General Assembly, Syria’s 18-month tragedy has dropped off the international agenda. US attention is diverted by the presidential elections and Russia and China disgracefully continue to block action at the UN Security Council. Unsurprisingly, the new international envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, has been doing his best to lower expectations about his mission.

As David Cameron, the UK prime minister, told the UN General Assembly, the blood of young children killed in the Syrian conflict is a “terrible stain” on the world body’s reputation. Indeed, Mr Assad has interpreted western paralysis as a licence to kill. With no threat of consequences, he has steadily escalated the war to the point where he has resorted to indiscriminate air strikes on rebel-held territory. In August alone 5,000 people perished in Syria.

It is time that Mr Assad is made to rethink his strategy. If Russia is intent on holding the Security Council hostage, then western and Arab governments should start looking at other effective measures, even if outside the UN, including the protection of Syrian civilians through no-fly zones.

No one wants western involvement in another Middle Eastern war. The constraints must not be underestimated, including the military challenge of enforcing the zones and neutralising Syria’s arsenal of chemical weapons. But it has always been clear that without a credible threat from western nations, the US above all, Assad’s murderous machine will not stop.

The sooner Mr Assad’s demise comes, the sooner Syria’s slide into full-scale civil war can be halted. The conflict is already destabilising neighbouring states and assuming some alarming features. Disillusioned with the west that they feel has abandoned them, the rebels have been joined by foreign jihadis. Their numbers remain small but could well increase if the conflict is prolonged. Mr Assad cannot be allowed to wreak havoc in the region and his chief supporters in Moscow must know that western patience has its